Case Studies

It was never about the stack.

Five engagements. Five stacks. One discipline.

Most data work is sold by stack. Modern warehouse, modern transformation layer, modern BI, modern AI. The promise is that decisions follow.

They don’t. Not on their own.

Across five engagements over the last decade — five different stacks, five different vintages of “modern” — the working decision system never started with the tools. It started with what was already there — clean systems running quietly, underutilized platforms sitting on the books, instruments collecting data nobody surfaces, workflows already in motion in spreadsheets and inboxes — and what was missing: a unified view, a feedback loop back to the people doing the work, a decision someone could actually make.

The stack changes every time. The discipline doesn’t.

Below: five engagements, anonymized by org. In each one, the stack you see at the bottom is the consequence of the design — not the headline.

What every case maps to
Signals
Measure what matters.
Intelligence
Turn data into insight.
Execution
Turn insight into action.

Each case below names what it evidences across the three — before the situation, before the build, before the stack.

Case study 01

National mental health nonprofit

Mental-health programs spanning 150+ high schools, 25+ school districts, 500+ college campuses, and growing community-based programs; 1.5M+ rows of multi-year survey assessments across students, faculty, and school/campus leadership.

What this case evidences
  • SignalsMulti-year survey instrument reconciled across four to six versions into a semantic dataset; CDC Wonder warehoused for trend and subgroup analysis.
  • IntelligenceExecutive analytics on program operations; burden-vs-disparity targeting view by state for grant strategy.
  • ExecutionAI-assisted impact reporting tied to the theory-of-change, drafted from data instead of authored separately.
What was already there

A Snowflake warehouse stood up by a vendor but stalled — dev/staging/prod schemas built but not in active use, Fivetran connections defined but not turned on. Multi-year survey data spanning four to six successive instrument versions sitting in Qualtrics. Salesforce capturing partnership phases, consultant caseloads, and assessment-cycle scheduling. Legacy operational data in Azure. A theory-of-change framework leadership already used to talk about impact.

What was missing

A semantic dataset across multi-year surveys. An executive analytics surface for program operations. An impact-reporting workflow that mapped data back to the theory-of-change — instead of being authored alongside it. A targeted-funding view — surfacing where burden and disparity diverge across states, sized against public-health datasets.

The decision system we stood up

Activated the stalled warehouse with DevOps — turned on the Fivetran connections, validated freshness, brought the dev/staging/prod schemas into analytical use. Designed the semantic dataset architecture for multi-year survey analysis so the data team could build the report-ready layer underneath. Stood up a ThoughtSpot trial as a demonstration vehicle for executive dashboards on Salesforce program operations and national dataset DWH analytics — proof of value ahead of any procurement decision. Brought CDC Wonder data into the warehouse — moving multi-year trend and subgroup analyses from piece-meal Google Sheets queries into DWH-based workflow. Extended the same data into a targeted-funding view — a burden-vs-disparity quadrant by state, framing where need and underinvestment co-occur for grant-strategy use. Prototyped AI-assisted impact reporting using Snowflake Cortex, Streamlit, Gemini, and Python — mapping outputs to the theory-of-change domains so impact narrative could be drafted from data instead of authored separately.

The stack — as a consequence
Sources
  • Qualtrics
  • Salesforce
  • Azure
  • CDC Wonder
Integration
  • Fivetran
Storage
  • Snowflake
Analytics & AI
  • Snowflake Cortex
  • Streamlit
  • Gemini
  • Python
Decision Surface
  • ThoughtSpot
  • PowerBI
  • Looker
  • Google Sheets
What it unlocked
  • A semantic survey dataset spanning instrument versions
  • Executive analytics on program operations
  • AI-drafted impact reporting tied directly to the theory-of-change
  • CDC Wonder data warehoused — enabling multi-year trend and subgroup analyses to run from DWH instead of piece-meal Google Sheets queries
  • Targeted-funding analytics — burden-vs-disparity by state — demonstrated as a grant-strategy view
Case study 02

K–8 charter network

Multi-site K-8 charter network in the Bronx — 5 sites serving ~1,800 students, the only single-gender public charter network in NYC; one site closing and another opening during the engagement; single-analyst team inherited after the prior data lead and compliance manager had departed.

What this case evidences
  • SignalsThree reporting platforms consolidated into a governed Tableau Cloud foundation; semantic data layer built on Google Sheets around the missing BigQuery ETL.
  • IntelligenceEnrollment forecasting at 99% accuracy via ARIMA; dashboards refocused from daily attendance onto chronic absenteeism and persistence.
  • ExecutionRecruitment funnel that ops, enrollment, and the call center could act on through the cycle — zipcode-targeted, tiered, delivered on a reduced budget.
What was already there

Three reporting platforms running in parallel — Looker, Tableau Cloud, Tableau Public. Tableau Cloud licenses on the books for two years, mostly unused. Student-level academic dashboards on public infrastructure with no governance. Daily attendance reporting that duplicated what the SIS already showed. Google Sheets workflows running quietly under most decisions. HubSpot, SchoolMint, PowerSchool, NWEA MAP, Illuminate, Google Forms, MailChimp, and a call center workflow — all real, all uneven.

What was missing

A consolidated, governed reporting environment. A semantic data foundation that didn't depend on a missing BigQuery ETL layer. Dashboards refocused from daily attendance to chronic absenteeism, persistence, and school-health trends. An enrollment funnel principals and ops teams could act on through the recruitment cycle.

The decision system we stood up

Authored a data maturity assessment and phased roadmap (Stage 0 Siloed → Stage 1 Developing → Stage 2 Predictive). Consolidated three platforms into Tableau Cloud, operationalizing the licenses already on the books. Migrated student-level dashboards off Tableau Public for governance. Built the semantic data foundation on Google Sheets → Tableau, working around the missing BigQuery ETL. Drove enrollment forecasting at 99% accuracy via ARIMA — correcting an inherited attrition-rate error in the Looker model. Modernized recruitment from ad-hoc tabling into a measurable acquisition funnel integrating HubSpot, SchoolMint, PowerSchool, lead scoring, zipcode-based digital marketing, MailChimp, and the call center workflow with tiered ops/enrollment-team follow-ups.

The stack — as a consequence
Sources
  • SchoolMint
  • PowerSchool
  • NWEA MAP
  • Illuminate
  • HubSpot
  • Google Forms
  • MailChimp
Integration
  • Google Sheets (semantic layer)
Storage
  • BigQuery
  • Google Sheets
Analytics & AI
  • ARIMA forecasting
  • Lead scoring
Decision Surface
  • Tableau Cloud
  • Looker (legacy)
What it unlocked
  • Daily-refresh dashboards on key reports (enrollment and academic), faster turnaround on ad-hoc reports, and metric banks codified for compliance reporting cycles
  • 70% lift in dashboard adoption across Principals/ADs and School/Network Ops
  • Ad-hoc reporting from 100% to <30%
  • Enrollment forecasting at 99% accuracy — informing capacity, staffing, and real-estate obligation decisions across the network's facility portfolio
  • Zipcode-targeted recruitment — digital marketing, promotional campaigns, and tabling events — delivered on a reduced budget
Case study 03

Behavioral health nonprofit

Nine clinics across Westchester and Rockland; CCBHC grant recipient; 3,300+ active clients; clinical, claims, program operations, and population data spanning multiple service lines.

What this case evidences
  • SignalsHIPAA-compliant patient-360 integrating clinical assessments, 837i claims, HL7/CCDA hospital encounter feeds, program operations, HR/financials, and SDOH.
  • IntelligenceInstrument-level clinical dashboards; SDOH and chronic-condition risk scoring; NSDUH state prevalence integrated into the population-health view.
  • ExecutionMitram measurement-based care workflow with Otsuka — +40% engagement across two pilot waves after reminder automation and follow-ups.
What was already there

Validated psychometric instruments (PHQ-9, GAD-7, C-SSRS Adult and Child, NIDA Quick Screen, CAGE-AID, plus SIS, PAQ, Q-LES-Q, FIBSER) historically captured at 3-month visits only. A smartphone app being piloted to collect these as patient-reported every 2 to 4 weeks instead — supporting measurement-based care between visits. 837i claims feeds across multiple payers (Beacon Health, Fidelis Care NY, Health First, Partners Health Plan, United Healthcare) sitting separately. HL7/CCDA hospital encounter feeds from regional EDs, uncoordinated. Program operations data across Article 31, OnTrack NY, and Health Home. HR and financials in their own systems. Demographic and zipcode-level data the org had access to but wasn't analyzing.

What was missing

A HIPAA-compliant patient-360 foundation. Real-time care coordination off ED and hospital encounter feeds. Instrument-level dashboards back in front of clinicians. A measurement-based care workflow that closed the loop after the visit. SDOH and chronic-condition risk scoring. NSDUH state-level prevalence integrated into population-health analytics.

The decision system we stood up

Architected a HIPAA-compliant Snowflake EDW POC with two contract engineers, integrating clinical assessments, 837i claims, HL7/CCDA hospital encounter feeds via Mirth Connect (real-time care coordination alerts), referrals, ED utilization, Article 31 / OnTrack NY / Health Home program operations, HR and financials, and demographic + zipcode data into a unified patient-360 analytical foundation. Built Tableau dashboards across the validated instruments, alongside operational and financial dashboards on caseload by clinician and managing office, claims by clinician, 837i payer submissions, ED utilization across regional hospitals, 30-day re-admission alerts, and SDOH + chronic-condition risk scoring. Designed the Mitram measurement-based care workflow with Otsuka — a pilot with 30+ patients across two waves drove +40% engagement after reminder automation and follow-ups. Integrated NSDUH prevalence data into the population-health view.

The stack — as a consequence
Sources
  • Clinical instruments
  • 837i claims feeds
  • HL7/CCDA encounter feeds
  • Article 31 / OnTrack NY / Health Home
  • HR + financials
  • NSDUH
Integration
  • Mirth Connect
  • Matillion
  • Apache NiFi
Storage
  • S3
  • Snowflake
Analytics & AI
  • SPSS
Decision Surface
  • Tableau
  • PowerBI
  • Excel
What it unlocked
  • Patient-360 analytical foundation across clinical, claims, encounter, and operational feeds
  • Real-time care coordination alerts off ED utilization
  • Mitram pilot drove +40% patient engagement (30+ patients, two waves)
  • SDOH and chronic-condition risk scoring
  • NSDUH state-level prevalence integrated into the population-health view
Case study 04

Test-prep company

National test-prep and tutoring brand with data dispersed across two legacy systems; test-prep alone spanned 6+ product lines (SAT/ACT/MCAT/GRE/GMAT/LSAT), 8+ channels, and multiple modalities; 300+ ad-hoc requests in queue on a legacy SQL/static-report environment.

What this case evidences
  • SignalsSisense ElastiCubes across booking analytics for six product lines and six channels; score-gain data restructured for cross-tier analysis.
  • IntelligenceEfficacy research on test-prep products by instructor, location/PSO, and tier; cross-functional decision support across A/B testing, customer profiling, and cancel/refund drivers.
  • ExecutionSisense as platform of record after a six-vendor evaluation; location-level enrollment data feeding leasing decisions; promotional-campaign performance feeding marketing.
What was already there

A legacy SQL Server environment with 300+ ad-hoc requests for reports and insights in the queue. Three analytics FTEs plus roughly 10% of 30+ business-side FTEs spending time on manual data wrangling. A 55% annual reporting completion rate. A standing 8–12-request weekly inventory. Booking data flowing through six channels (Internet, Inbound Call, Local Office, Enrollment Advisor, Service Center, Marketing) across SAT/ACT/MCAT/GRE/GMAT/LSAT product lines. Score-gain data sitting unused for cross-tier analysis. Stakeholder voices across Product, Ops, Marketing that hadn't been collected into a single proposal.

What was missing

A BI platform of record. Repeatable booking analytics across six product lines and six channels. Efficacy research the marketing and product teams could actually use. Cross-functional decision support across A/B testing, customer profiling, cancel/refund analysis, scheduling, and location-level enrollment.

The decision system we stood up

Authored an Analytics & Reporting 2.0 strategic proposal — diagnosed the legacy environment, captured stakeholder voices, ran a six-vendor BI evaluation (Tableau, Spotfire, Sisense, Domo, Periscope, Looker), and presented tiered investment scenarios. Selected Sisense as the platform of record. Implemented Sisense ElastiCube ETL across booking analytics for six product lines — daily/monthly pacing, budget-vs-actual, YoY trends, channel attribution, product mix. Conducted efficacy research on test-prep products — score-gain analyses across SAT, GRE, MCAT by instructor, location/PSO, and product tier. Delivered cross-functional decision support: A/B testing, high-value customer profiling, cancel/refund driver analysis, promotional-campaign performance, scheduling optimization, location-level enrollment data for leasing decisions.

The stack — as a consequence
Sources
  • Booking systems (6 channels)
  • Score-gain data
  • Product line data (SAT/ACT/MCAT/GRE/GMAT/LSAT)
Integration
  • SQL Server views + marts
Storage
  • SQL Server
Analytics & AI
  • Sisense ElastiCubes
  • R
  • SPSS
Decision Surface
  • Sisense dashboards
What it unlocked
  • Sisense as the platform of record after a six-vendor evaluation
  • Repeatable booking analytics across six product lines and six channels
  • Efficacy research operational for marketing and product
  • Cross-functional decision support spanning A/B testing, customer profiling, cancel/refund driver analysis, and location-level leasing
Case study 05

Early test-prep + university advisory

Founding AB engagements (2016–2017): test-prep platform launch + university learning analytics.

What this case evidences
  • SignalsLog-data measures designed for the NextGen test-prep platform; course outcome data structured for traditional vs. hybrid section comparison.
  • IntelligenceConceptual dashboards as simulated charts; defensible outcomes-comparison frame across course modalities.
  • ExecutionA measurement frame the product team could build the platform against; product decisions unblocked ahead of the warehouse.
What was already there

Existing platform log data. Course-level student outcome data on the university side — traditional and hybrid sections of the same course running in parallel. Stakeholders thinking about a next-generation test-prep product without a measurement frame.

What was missing

A defensible set of log-data measures. A platform-design frame the product team could build against. A defensible analytical frame for comparing student outcomes between traditional and hybrid sections of the same course.

The decision system we stood up

Designed log-data measures and contributed to the NextGen test-prep platform design. Built conceptual dashboard designs as simulated charts — enough fidelity for product and stakeholder decisions, without waiting for the warehouse that wasn't built yet. On the university side: student outcomes analyses between traditional and hybrid sections of the same course.

The stack — as a consequence
Sources
  • Platform log data
  • Course outcome data
Integration
Storage
Analytics & AI
  • SPSS
  • R
Decision Surface
  • Conceptual dashboards (simulated charts)
What it unlocked
  • A defensible measurement frame for the NextGen test-prep platform
  • Conceptual dashboards that unblocked product decisions ahead of the warehouse
  • A defensible outcomes-comparison frame across traditional vs. hybrid course sections on the university side
What this adds up to

Across all five: the stack changed. The discipline didn’t.

Across the five: a vendor-built warehouse operationalized with in-house DevOps and the existing data team (analyst + senior data scientist); an inherited single-analyst team augmented by in-house SIS and Ops leadership and a hybrid in-house/external enrollment workstream; two contract engineers on an EDW POC, plus an in-house workflow assistant and an Otsuka-side data scientist on the Mitram pilot; an inherited SQL specialist and graduate intern, plus a statistical analyst and market research analyst added — a four-person function; solo and intern collaborations on founding engagements. The team configuration changed every time too — never a default “add headcount” move.

In every engagement, the work organized around the same questions. What’s already in motion that nobody’s named as an asset? What’s being collected but not surfaced? What’s sitting on the books underutilized? What workflow is already producing signal that’s never closing the loop? What decision do the people doing the work actually need to make next?

Modernization isn’t a stack you buy and then hope decisions follow. It’s a decision system you organize from the assets you already have — and the stack is what falls out of doing that honestly.

Stack-light. Context-rich. Built to be handed off.

From fragmented to decision-ready.

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